Today, threats to your computer and IT systems are more widespread and varied than ever before. The damage can cost time, money and even destruction of your data. Nowadays with identity theft a big danger too, it becomes even more important to protect yourself against there threats. First let's take a look at the different kinds of viruses and threats.
First, let's look at some different types of Viruses and malware that is currently popular. Thanks to Wikipedia for the following descriptions.
Different Kinds of Threats
Virus: A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. The original may modify the copies or the copies may modify themselves, as occurs in a metamorphic virus. A virus can only spread from one computer to another when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for instance by a user sending it over a network or carrying it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, USB drive or by the Internet. Additionally, viruses can spread to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.
Worm: A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computer terminals on the network) and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms always harm the network (if only by consuming bandwidth), whereas viruses always infect or corrupt files on a targeted computer.
Spyware & Malware: Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent. While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user's behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, redirecting Web browser activity, or diverting advertising revenue to a third party.
Trojans: A Trojan horse is a program that installs malicious software while under the guise of doing something else. A Trojan horse differs from a virus in that a Trojan horse does not insert its code into other computer files and appears harmless until executed. The term is derived from the classical myth of the Trojan Horse. Trojan horses may appear to be useful or interesting programs (or at the very least harmless) to an unsuspecting user, but are actually harmful when executed. There are two common types of Trojan horses. One is ordinary software that has been corrupted by a hacker. A hacker inserts malicious code into the program that executes while the program is used. Examples include various implementations of weather alerting programs, computer clock setting software, and peer-to-peer file sharing utilities. The other type of Trojan is a standalone program that masquerades as something else, like a game or image file, in order to trick the user into running the program.
How you can protect your Computer & Network
So, now you know a wee bit more about viruses then you ever wanted. What can you do personally and at the company level to protect yourself and your IT systems?
One thing that will go a long way to protecting your PC is to purchase proven security software. My personal recommendation differs from your environment, depending on whether you are a networked office with server, or a small office with 3 computers.
Recommended Products
In a true client/server network, I recommend Trendmicro Client Server Security line of products. They are easy to administer and rock solid. Everything can be done at the server, allowing your IT person to manage updates and deal with discovered threats appropriately. Trendmicro also has a complementary anti-spyware program that works great as well.
In a small network of say 3 computers, you can't beat the value of Panda Internet Security. For around 60 bucks, you get complete protection for up to 3 computers. Got an old Windows 98 computer? No problem, as Panda is one of the few vendors that their current generation of Anti-virus supports it. Even the client is very lean, it doesn't drastically affect the performance on a tired old Windows 98 box.
If you're a home user, there is a good Anti-virus product that's free for home use. It's called Avast! It's free for personal use at your home(not free for business use). So there's no excuse to go without Security software.
Safe Computing
Stay one step ahead of spyware. Be careful what websites you visit. The less mainstream the websites, the greater the risk of getting spyware or a Trojan. Beware of contest websites, especially the ones that pop up in browser advertisements. "Warez" (illegally copied software) websites that promise to allow you to download all the latest software for free are havens for crooks who use them to distribute malicious software in an effort to steal your identity. Many "Adult" sites are also dangerous for you to visit, since they can expose your computer to the same threats of spyware and Trojans.
Very often when someone needs me to remove spyware, malware of a trojan from their system, it means that they've accidentally been sent to an adult website or a page full of advertising. Now they start to get pop-ups and before they know it they can't close all the windows without clicking on something that will actually install a malicious piece of spyware. The answer? If that happens to you, do the following. Don't try to close the Internet Explorer windows the regular way. Instead, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and bring up the task manager. From there, click on the processes tab, select every instance of "iexplore.exe" one by one and click on End Process. This way you will avoid accidentally clicking on a window that is just waiting to install something malicious.
Beware of suspicious attachments! If you don't know who it's from, don't open it! And especially be wary of any files that end in .pif, .exe, .bat, .com & .js.
Having good security software, being informed and staying safe will go along way to helping you stay virus free.
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